Clogs and tulips, windmills and canals, Rembrandt and Anne Frank. These top the list of well-known tourist attractions in the Netherlands. But the Dutch tourism agency thinks the Dutch have more to show their foreign guests.

The new Dutch DNA campaign has been set up to tell the world – or at least visitors from around the world – about Dutch fashion, design, and architecture, in addition to the better-known Dutch heritage.

“The Swan bridge (in Rotterdam) is almost iconic. It’s has a great stylistic design, which people recognise almost instantly.” So says Linda Vlassenrood of the Dutch Architecture Institute (NAi) of the 15-year-old Erasmus bridge by architect Ben van Berkel, referring to it by its nickname.

“Our architecture has a rich history. From here you can see the Museum park, Rem Koolhaas’ Kunsthal. The slightly older Boijmans van Beuningen museum is closer by. And the Sonneveld House is a good example of 1920-1930 Modernism. We recently made a guide with routes that take you past buildings worth seeing in a number of cities.”

Classic icons
Holland is best known for Amsterdam’s picture-perfect canals, the windmills of Kinderdijk, and the bulb fields around the Keukenhof. But cities like Rotterdam with its bustling port and post-war architecture offer something completely different. And, says Jos Vranken, managing director of the Dutch Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC), something equally interesting to tourists.

“These icons are still important, in particular to people visiting the Netherlands for the first time. Take the Chinese or Indonesians, they want to see the classic sights, just like we want to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But there are several groups of people that have been here before. If you want to keep attracting these people, classic icons are not enough. The Dutch DNA campaign is way to bind these groups to the Netherlands.”

Creativity
The tourism board has just begun the Dutch DNA campaign. It is aimed at both the Dutch and the international market. Last year, 11 million foreign visitors came to the Netherlands, almost matching the record number that came in 2007. People mainly came from neighbouring countries, but the number of people coming from further away is becoming more and more important, not least because they spend a lot of money.

Mr Vranken says the campaign is inspired by the story of how the Dutch became who they are today. “The interest of the average visitor is triggered by the reclamation of land from the sea. Inventiveness, creativity and pragmatism is in our DNA.”

New heroes
On the Dutch DNA website, there are separate sections for fashion, architecture, design and heritage. Famous modern architects are featured – like Gerrit Rietveld, Willem Dudok, J.J.P. Oud and Rem Koolhaas, alongside well-known designers – like Jürgen Bey, Hella Jongerius and Piet-Hein Eek. They are the new heroes.

"They help position the 'Holland brand', as we call it. There is an important Rem Koolhaas building in Beijing for instance. The fact that the architect is Dutch makes the Chinese more aware of Holland. This helps us generate more visitors and money,”

No-nonsense
The NBTC managing director calls international tourism "a huge and growing market". But the question is of course whether modern Dutch architecture, fashion and design really interest tourists from far-away places. The number of visitors to a design exhibition by Hella Jongerius in the Boijmans van Beuningen museum appears to prove they do.

“Look around you, Dutch designers are definitely worth seeing. You can see here how inventive they are. But Rotterdam harbour is also interesting for tourists.” And, says Mr Vanken, it’s just as “Dutch” as Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. “The modern architecture in Rotterdam is typically Dutch. It’s industrial, no-nonsense and uses a lot of metal. If you like art and design, you really have to come here.”